Chapter Four - The Demon Returns

The boy held her close as she continued telling her story. Her voice was soft but heavy, like every word carried the weight of a wound that never healed.

After those days when I locked myself in the room, I finally gathered courage, she said. I couldn’t hide forever. One night, I opened the door and told my uncle everything. I told him about the accident. I told him that my parents were killed by a demon. I told him that I survived, but not as a human anymore. I told him about the hunger for blood and the shame I felt.

She paused, her lips trembling. I thought he would be afraid of me. I thought he would push me away. But instead… he just sat quietly for a long time. Then he held my hands and said, You are still my niece. You are still family. If you need blood, then you won’t steal it from people. I will find another way for you.

Tears filled her crimson eyes as she remembered his kindness. "From that day, he began bringing home chickens. He said I could take their blood, so I wouldn’t hurt anyone. At first, I resisted. I didn’t want to live like that. But he convinced me. He said if I wanted to live, if I wanted to study and grow, I had to accept who I was. So, slowly, I agreed."

The boy listened with a soft, aching heart. He could almost imagine the little girl sitting at a table, trying to eat like a normal child while her uncle carried a secret heavier than anyone could imagine.

With his help, she went on, "I continued my studies. I went to school, did my homework, and laughed with classmates. On the outside, I was just another girl. But inside, the hunger always whispered. Still, I had my uncle’s support, and that gave me strength."

Her voice darkened as she said, But happiness never stays for long.

One night, I felt the hunger again. I didn’t want to trouble my uncle, so I slipped out quietly and went to the nearby farm. There were chickens there, and I fed on a few. When the hunger calmed, I cleaned myself and came back home.

But when I opened the door, I froze.

Her breath shook as she remembered. "The smell hit me first. Blood. Heavy, warm, and fresh. My heart dropped. I ran inside, and there… I saw my uncle lying on the floor. His clothes were soaked with blood, his face pale.

For a moment, I thought… I thought I had killed him. I thought maybe I had gone mad with hunger and done it without knowing. My hands trembled, my body shook. I couldn’t breathe. I sat beside him, screaming his name, but he did not move."

Her voice broke, and the boy pulled her closer, his own eyes wet. But she continued.

Then… I caught another scent in the air. A dark, sharp smell that burned my chest. I knew it. I had smelled it once before the night my parents died.

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